Satellite communication system for communicating packet data messages

ABSTRACT

A satellite communication system is disclosed which provides at least one satellite employing multiple beams to a plurality of user terminals. A gateway is employed to connect to either a PSTN or an Internet communicating with the user terminal over the system so that the users within a given frequency range are distinguished one from the other employing orthogonal codes. The user terminal has the capability of either initiating or receiving packet data messages.

I. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/325,177, filed Jan. 4, 2006, which is incorporated by reference.

II. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cellular telephone systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to new and improved systems and methods for communicating information in mobile cellular telephone systems or satellite mobile telephone systems employing spread spectrum communication signals.

III. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Historically, the telephone, which comes from the Greek word ‘tele’, meaning from afar, and ‘phone’, meaning voice or voice sound, is said to have been invented on Mar. 10, 1876 in Boston, Mass. by Alexander Graham Bell. The principle of the telephone was conceived as early as 1874 combining electricity and voice which led to Bell's actual invention of the telephone in 1876.

U.S. Pat. No. 174,465 issued Mar. 3, 1876 for improvements in telegraphy is now considered to be the most valuable patent ever issued.

Telstar, the world's first international communications satellite, years later was placed into orbit on Jul. 10, 1962 in a collaboration between NASA and the Bell System. Today satellites in geosynchronous orbit are used mostly for long distance service.

The basic concept of cellular phones which began in 1947 with crude mobile car phones resulted in the realization that using small cells or range of service area with frequency re-use could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially. However, at this point in time the technology was nonexistent. The cellular telephone is in fact a type of two-way radio which in 1947 AT&T proposed at the FCC allocated large number of radio spectrum frequencies so that widespread mobile phone service could become feasible and provide AT&T an incentive to research the new technology. The FCC's decision to limit the cellular phone frequencies in 1947 resulted in the possibility of only 23 cellular phone conversations which could occur simultaneously in the same service area. In 1968 this was increased. Thereafter, a cellular phone system was proposed by Bell Laboratories. In 1977 AT&T Bell Labs constructed and operated a prototype cellular phone system. In 1981 Motorola and America Radio Phone started a second U.S. cellular radio phone system test in the Washington/Baltimore area. Suddenly consumer demand quickly outstripped the cellular phone system's 1982 standards so that by 1987 cellular phone subscribers exceeded one million and the airwaves were crowded. To stimulate the growth of new cellular phone technology, the FCC declared in 1987 that cellular phone licenses may employ alternative cellular phone technologies in the 800 megahertz band.

Digital wireless and cellular find their roots back in the 1940s when commercial mobile telephony began. On Jun. 17, 1946 in St. Louis, Mo., AT&T and Southwestern Bell introduced the first American commercial mobile radio telephone service and mobile telephony a channel is a pair of frequencies, one frequency to transmit on and one to receive.

A cell phone is a portable telephone which receives or sends messages through a cell site or transmitting tower. Radio waves are used to transfer signals to and from the cell phone, each cell site having a range of 3-5 miles and overlapping other cell sites. All of the cell sites are connected to one or more cellular switching exchanges which can detect the strength of the signal received from the telephone. As the telephone user moves or roams from one cell area to another, the exchange automatically switches the call to the cell site with the strongest signal. The term ‘cell phone’ is uncommon outside the United States and Japan. However, almost all mobile phones use cellular technology including GSM, CDMA and the old analog mobile phone systems. Hence, the term ‘cell phone’ has been regarded by many to designate any mobile telephone system. An exception to mobile phones which employ cellular technology are satellite phones; for example, the Iridium phone system which is very much like a cell phone system except the cell sites are in orbit. Marine radio telephone satellites administered by Inmarsat have a completely different system. The Inmarsat satellite system simply retransmits whatever signals it receives with a mobile station's actually logging into a ground station.

With the advent of the Globalstar® satellite telephone system, a great advance in the art was recognized by virtue of a basic telephonic satellite technology which provided a constellation of 48 satellites in low earth orbit which were much simpler to build and less expensive than those of Iridium employing a radically different technology which employs code division multiple access, or CDMA, technology, converting speech signals into a digital format and then transmitting it from the Globalstar® satellite phone up to satellite systems and down to the ground station. Every call on the Globalstar® system possesses its own unique code which distinguishes it from the other calls sharing the airwaves at the same time, and employing CDMA provides signals which are free of interference, cross-talk or static. CDMA was introduced in 1995 and soon became the fastest growing wireless technology and one that was chosen by Globalstar® for use in its satellite communications network, which service Globalstar® launched in 2000.

The key features of the Globalstar® satellite phone employing CDMA provide unique forward and reverse links, direct sequence spread spectrum, seamless soft handoff, universal frequency re-use, propagation through multiple overlapping beams on multiple satellites for diversity, and variable rate transmission.

The Globalstar® satellite phone service is delivered through 48 low earth orbiting satellites providing both voice and data services. The so-called Globalstar® LEO constellation consists of satellites arranged in a Walker constellation, and each satellite is approximately 700 miles from the earth which allows for the highest quality voice clarity of any satellite phone in the industry. At the heart of the Globalstar® system as initially proposed is Qualcomm's adaptation of code division multiple access technology which provides Globalstar's® digital satellite service, resulting in a technology which provides signal security, superior quality, fewer dropped calls and greater reliability. Calls can be made from any gateway via any satellite of the system to any user terminal, as long as the satellite is co-visible from both gateway and user terminal. This co-visibility is what defines a gateway service area; at least 24 gateways around the globe are used to provide worldwide coverage. Each satellite serves at least 2,000 simultaneous users.

The Globalstar® system employs redundancy with every call that a customer places so that a call is routed through as many as four satellites which then combine the signal into a single static-free call. In the event that one of the paths to one of the satellites is blocked, the other satellites keep the call from terminating, applying the technology of path diversity which minimizes dropped calls and enhances the quality of the Globalstar® satellite phone service. The Globalstar® system employs bent pipe technology which allows a call to be first beamed up to the satellite and then retransmitted to a relatively close gateway. The call is then sent through its call destination through land line or cellular networks. The Globalstar® gateway carries out all the processing and switching of the calls which improves the reliability of the call delivery, unlike the Iridium system which requires satellite-to-satellite transmission.

In addition, the Globalstar® system, which provides reliable call delivery with voice characteristics the same or better than conventional telephony, complements the current cellular telephone systems in existence by allowing the user to first use conventional cellular, which is far less expensive but totally dependent upon the proximity of cell sites for its reliability, and then allows the user to select the Globalstar® satellite system where cell sites are far too distant to be reliable or in remote locations where these sites are non-existent. Code division multiple access, which refers to a multiple access scheme where stations use spread spectrum modulations and orthogonal codes to avoid interfering with one another, is typically employed in Globalstar® systems. The CDMA modulation technique is one of several techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of system users are present. Other multiple access communications system techniques such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), and AM modulation schemes such as amplitude expanded single sideband (ACSSB) are known in the art. The spread spectrum modulation technique of CDMA is found to have significant advantages over these modulation techniques for multiple access communications systems. CDMA techniques in multiple access communications systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 entitled Spread Spectrum Multiple Access Communication System Using Satellite or Terrestrial Repeaters, the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference.

In this patent, a multiple access technique is disclosed where a large number of mobile telephone system users each having a transceiver communicate through satellite repeaters or terrestrial base stations, also referred to as cell sites stations, cell sites, or for short cells, using code division multiple access (CDMA) spread spectrum communication signals. Frequency spectrum employed in CDMA can be reused multiple times, thus permitting an increase in system user capacity. The CDMA is found to result in a much higher spectral efficiency than can be achieved using other multiple access techniques.

Satellite channels employing this system typically experience fading that is characterized as Rician. Accordingly, this signal is found to consist of a direct component summed with a multiple reflected component having a Rayleigh fading statistic. A power ratio between the direct and reflected component is typically found to be on the order of 6 to 10 dBs depending upon the characteristics of the mobile unit antenna and the environment about the mobile unit. Contrasted to the satellite channel, the terrestrial channel experiences signal fading that typically consists of the Rayleigh faded component without a direct component. This terrestrial channel is found to present a more severe fading environment than the satellite channel in which the Rician fading is the dominant fading characteristic.

The Rayleigh fading characteristics experienced in the terrestrial signal is found to be caused by the signal being reflected from many different features of the physical environment, resulting in a signal which arrives at a mobile unit receiver from many directions with different transmission delays. In the UHF frequency bands which are usually employed for mobile radio communications, including cellular mobile telephone systems, there is found to be significant phase differences in signals traveling on different paths which provides the possibility of destructive summation of the signals causing occasional deep fades. Physical position of the mobile unit is a strong function of the terrestrial channel fading so that small changes in the position of the mobile unit change the physical delays of all the signal propagation paths which further result in a different phase for each path. The motion of the mobile unit through the environment can result in a rapid fading process; for example, employing 850 MHz cellular radio frequency band, the fading can typically be as fast as one fade per second per mile per hour of the vehicle speed. This level of fading is found to be extremely disruptive to signals in a terrestrial channel, resulting in poor communication quality. Quality may be improved by providing additional power to overcome the fading, which in itself affects both the user in excessive power consumption and the system by increased interference. Certain CDMA modulation techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,901,307 offer some advantages over narrow band modulation techniques using communication systems employing satellite or terrestrial repeaters. The terrestrial channel is found to pose special problems to any communication system, particularly with respect to multiple path. These problems may be overcome by using CDMA techniques which overcome the special problems of the terrestrial channel by mitigating the adverse effect of multipath, for example fading, while also exploiting the advantages of multipath.

CDMA cellular telephone systems allow the same frequency band to be employed for communication in all calls. CDMA waveform properties that provide processing gain are also used to discriminate between signals that occupy the same frequency band. Furthermore, the high speed pseudo-noise PN modulation allows many different propagation paths to be separated provided the difference in path delay exceed the PN chip duration; i.e., 1/bandwidth. It is found that if a PN chip rate of approximately one MHz is employed in a CDM system, the full spread spectrum processing gain equal to the ratio of the spread bandwidth to system data rate can be employed against paths that differ by more than one microsecond in path delay from desired path. It is found that a one microsecond path delay differential corresponds to differential path distance of approximately 1,000 feet, the urban environment typically providing differential path delays in excess of one microsecond and up to 10-20 microseconds in some areas. When narrow band modulation systems are employed, such as at analog FM modulation, by conventional telephone systems, the existence of multiple paths results in severe multipath fading. By employing wideband CDMA modulation, the different paths may be discriminated against in the demodulation process which greatly reduces the severity of multipath fading. Although multipath fading is not totally eliminated using CDMA discrimination techniques, there will occasionally exist paths with delayed differentials of less than the PN chip duration for the particular system. For signals which possess path delays on this order, it is found that signals cannot be discriminated against in the demodulator, resulting in some degree of fading.

It becomes apparent that some form of diversity is desirable which would permit a system to reduce fading. One such system is diversity which mitigates the deleterious effects of fading. The three major types of diversity which may be employed are time diversity, frequency diversity and space diversity. Time diversity is found to be best obtained by the use of repetition, time interleaving and error detection and coding which is a form of repetition.

CDMA by its inherent nature possessing a wide band signal which offers a form of frequency diversity by spreading the signal energy over a wide bandwidth, resulting in a small part of the CDMA signal bandwidth experiencing selective fading effects.

Space or path diversity is obtained by providing multiple signal paths through simultaneously links from a mobile user through two or more cell sites. Path diversity may be obtained by exploiting the multipath environment through spread spectrum processing by allowing a signal arriving with different propagation delays to be received and processed separately. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,501 entitled Soft Handoff in a CDMA Cellular Telephone System, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390 entitled Diversity Receiver in a CDMA Cellular Telephone System, examples of path diversity are illustrated. Further control of deleterious effects in a CDMA system may be realized by controlling transmitter power. Such a system for cell site mobile unit power control is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,109 entitled Method and Apparatus for Controlling Transmission Power in a CDMA Cellular Mobile Telephone System. Techniques as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 contemplate the use of coherent modulation and demodulation for both directions of the link in mobile satellite communications. A pilot carrier signal as a coherent phase reference for the satellite to mobile link and the cell to mobile link is disclosed. It is found, however, that the severity of multipath fading experienced in the terrestrial cellular environment with the resulting phase disruption of the channel precludes usage of coherent demodulation techniques for the mobile to cell link.

Relatively long PN sequences with each user channel being assigned a different PN sequence are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307. The different user signals may be discriminated upon reception employing the cross correlation between different PN sequences and the auto correlation of a PN sequence for all time shifts other than zero where both have a zero average value. Although the cross correlations average zero for a short time interval, such as an information bit time, the cross correlation follows a binomial distribution since PN signals are not orthogonal. As such, signals interfere with each other much the same as if they were wide bandwidth Gaussian noise resulting in other user signals or mutual interference noise ultimately limiting the achievable capacity.

Multipath can provide path diversity to a wide band PN CDMA system which uses greater than 1 MHz bandwidth if two or more paths are available with greater than one microsecond differential path delay. Two or more PN receivers can be employed to separately receive these signals. These signals typically will exhibit independence in multipath fading, i.e., they usually do not fade together, the outputs of the two receivers can be diversity combined. It is found that a loss in performance in this situation only occurs when both receivers experience fades at the same time, hence two or more PN receivers in combination with a diversity combiner may be employed utilizing a waveform that permits path diversity combining operations to be performed.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 filed Oct. 17, 1986, issued Feb. 13, 1990, a communication system which accommodates a large number of users throughout a variety of user environments from high density urban to very low density rural is provided which results in a multiple access communication system having high simultaneous user capacity.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,501 filed Nov. 7, 1989, issued Mar. 31, 1992, there is disclosed a CDMA cellular telephone system wherein the same frequency band is used for all cells employing CDMA waveform properties that provide processing gains which are also used to discriminate between signals that occupy the same frequency band.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459 filed Jun. 25, 1990, issued Apr. 7, 1992, there is disclosed spread spectrum communication techniques, particularly CDMA techniques, in the mobile cellular telephone environment which provide features to vastly enhance system reliability and capacity over other communication system techniques overcoming fading and interference while providing greater frequency reuse and enabling a substantial increase in the number of system users.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390 filed Nov. 7, 1989, issued Apr. 28, 1992, there is disclosed a CDMA cellular telephone system where the same frequency band is used for communication in all cells to provide a cellular telephone system in which a receiver design facilitates reception and processing of the strongest signals transmitted from one or more cell sites, the signals being multipath signals from a single cell site or signals transmitted by multiple cell sites.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,626 filed May 11, 1992, issued Aug. 3, 1993, there is disclosed a repeater diversity spread spectrum communication system providing substantially fade free communications between a transmitter (1) and a receiver (7). A transmitted signal is relayed through a plurality of linear communications repeaters (3-6) that produce copies of the transmitted signal, the copies each arriving through an independently fading signal path. The receiver processes the received signal copies to equalize them to one another in delay, frequency, and phase, and then combines the multiple received and equalized signal copies to produce a composite signal having a greatly reduced fading depth.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,261 filed Mar. 5, 1992, issued Nov. 30, 1993, there is provided a system for directing handoff in mobile station communication between base stations which employ code division multiple access techniques.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,262 filed Oct. 8, 1991, issued Nov. 30, 1993, there is disclosed a CDMA cellular mobile telephone wherein the transmitter power of the mobile units are controlled so as to produce at the cell site a nominal received signal power from each and every mobile unit transmitter operating within the cell. Thus, the transmitter power is controlled in the terrestrial channel and the cell diversity environment so as to overcome deleterious fading without causing unnecessary system interference.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,286 filed Mar. 29, 1991, issued Apr. 12, 1994, there is disclosed a radio communication system capable of servicing a roaming user or the like outside the range of terrestrial relay stations including a packet switched network and database of roaming users, a satellite communications system having at least one, but usually a plurality of orbiting satellites over a terrestrial satellite service area, a satellite control center and a plurality of terrestrial communication links wherein call setup is controlled by processors and databases onboard the orbiting satellites and wherein only after the satellite link for the communication channels is completed, does control and switching rely on ground base system such that the orbiting satellites are integrated into a ground based telephone network and tariff structure.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,474 filed Mar. 27, 1992, issued May 3, 1994, there is disclosed spread spectrum communication techniques, particularly CDMA, in a mobile cellular telephone environment which provides features to vastly enhance system reliability and capacity over other communication system techniques.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,797 filed Jan. 24, 1992, issued May 16, 1995, there is disclosed a system for constructing PN sequences that provide orthogonality between the users so that mutual interference will be reduced allowing higher capacity and better link performance, employing spread spectrum communication techniques, particularly CDMA, in a mobile cellular telephone environment.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,297 filed Sep. 15, 1995, issued Feb. 3, 1998, there is disclosed a radio communication system capable of servicing a roaming user or the like outside the range of terrestrial relay stations which includes a packet switched network and database of roaming users, a satellite communications system having at least one, but usually a plurality of orbiting satellites over a terrestrial satellite service area, a satellite control center and a plurality of terrestrial communication links, wherein call setup is controlled by processors and databases onboard the orbiting satellites and wherein only after the satellite link for the communication channels is completed, does control and switching rely on ground based equipment such that the orbiting satellites are integrated to a ground based telephone network and tariff structure.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,837 filed Sep. 22, 1997, issued May 11, 1999, there is disclosed a radio communication system capable of servicing a roaming user or the like outside the range of terrestrial relay stations which includes a packet switched network and database of roaming users, a satellite communications system having at least one, but usually a plurality of orbiting satellites over a terrestrial satellite service area, a satellite control center and a plurality of terrestrial communication links wherein call setup is controlled by processors and databases onboard the orbiting satellites and wherein only after the satellite link for the communication channel is completed, does control and switching rely on ground based equipment such that the orbiting satellites are integrated into a ground based telephone network and tariff structure.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,768 filed Sep. 4, 1996, issued Jun. 6, 2000, there is disclosed a communication system having a satellite communication component comprising at least one satellite and at least one terrestrial gateway and also a wireless terrestrial communication component comprising at least one repeater and at least one mobile switching center, the gateway and switching center coupled together by a first mobile applications part network, the gateway and the mobile switching center further coupled to a terrestrial communication network, further including at least one dual mode or higher tri-mode user terminal comprising a first transceiver for bidirectionally communicating with the gateway through the satellite, a second transceiver for bidirectionally communicating with the mobile switching center through the repeater and a controller responsive to one of a user selected or a gateway selected protocol for selectively enabling either the first or the second transceiver for conveying a user communication to a terrestrial communication network.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,236 filed Aug. 31, 1999, issued Oct. 28, 2003, there disclosed an apparatus for generating a PN sequence with an arbitrary number of bits where the number of bits is provided in parallel with each clock pulse, allowing the sequences to be generated at high speed when needed and allowing parallel processing in the acquisition and demodulation processes.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,693,951 filed Jul. 23, 1999, issued Feb. 17, 2004, there is disclosed implementation of spread spectrum communication techniques, particularly CDMA, in a mobile cellular telephone environment which provides features that vastly enhance system reliability and capacity over other communication system techniques, overcoming, for example, fading and interference while promoting greater frequency reuse, enabling a substantial increase in the number of system users.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,780 filed Jun. 12, 2001, issued Mar. 30, 2004, there is disclosed a multibeam communication system having a user terminal, a communications station for transmitting information to and receiving information from the user terminal and a plurality of beam sources where each beam source projects a plurality of beams and where a communication link between the user terminal and the communications station is established on one or more beams, providing a system and method for reducing call dropping rates while maintaining a desired level of beam source diversity.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,839,007 filed Sep. 9, 2002, issued Jan. 4, 2005, there is disclosed embodiments which address the need for reliable transmission of higher priority data within a frame wherein an inner code is applied to one or more partial segments of a transmitted data frame, in addition to an outer code applied to the entire frame, the inner code segment being retained when the inner decoding decodes without error providing the benefit of reducing the number of retransmissions of higher priority data, as well as reducing delay for time sensitive segments of the frame.

Various satellite telephone systems have been proposed, including those as depicted in the FCC filing for “Authority to Launch and Operate a Satellite System to Provide Mobile Satellite Services in the 2 GHz Bands” dated Nov. 3, 2000, relating to the Globalstar® system, which is hereby incorporated by reference; the FCC filing in the matter of Mobile Satellite Ventures Subsidiary, LLC for “Minor Amendment of Application to Launch and Operate a Replacement L Band Mobile Service Satellite at 101° West” dated Nov. 18, 2003; and the FCC filing by Thoraya which depicts a one GEO satellite system to provide a satellite telephone service.

Thus, it can be seen from the inception of the telephone through its various phases of improvement, cellular to satellite cellular telephony, a vast number of advances have been made which provide a modern, efficient and affordable telephone system which today, in many cases, supplants the existing telephone system and may in the future do so on an increasing basis.

There is, however, a continuing demonstrated need to provide improved satellite constellation systems, preferably LEO systems, which provide multiple beams to a plurality of users and employ at least one gateway connected to a PSTN communicating with a user over the constellation where each of the users within a given frequency band is distinguished from another employing orthogonal codes.

Although previous patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 describe or reference a multi-beam satellite system, these beams are considered to cover fixed regions on the ground, which requires a GEO satellite. In this case, the same sort of hand-off of a user terminal from beam to beam can be used as is used in a terrestrial cellular system. However, the '307 patent does not address the case where the beams and satellites are rapidly moving as they are in a MEO or LEO system, since it was written in an era that preceded the satellite technology that enabled large numbers of relatively smaller satellites (such as Globalstar's®) to be economically and reliably launched and controlled. Therefore, the hand-off issues described in the '307 patent are much simpler than those encountered in the Globalstar® system or similar LEO or MEO systems, or even those encountered in GEO systems which have dynamically varying beam shapes, which is another technological advance that is now feasible in satellite systems. That patent also does not address packet data services, since those were not widely used in the time frame of the patent. Other patents that address packet data services also do not address the LEO, MEO or dynamic beam GEO systems. The present invention describes a multi-beam LEO, MEO or GEO satellite system that can be used to provide packet data services (in addition to voice) for mobile users, that can be either initiating or receiving packet data calls over the system, while communicating with either a fixed or mobile user anywhere in the world.

IV. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a satellite constellation system employing multiple beams to a plurality of users where each of the users within a given frequency band is distinguished from another employing orthogonal codes and may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

A further object of this invention is to provide a LEO satellite constellation system which provides multiple beams to a plurality of users employing at least one gateway connected to a PSTN where the user may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a satellite constellation system which provides multiple beams to a plurality of users employing at least one gateway connected to the Internet wherein the user may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

Again another object of this invention is to provide a GEO satellite constellation system providing multiple beams to a plurality of users employing at least one gateway and either connected to a PSTN or the Internet wherein the user may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

Yet again another object of this invention is to provide a MEO satellite constellation system which provides multiple beams to a plurality of users employing at least one gateway connected to either a PSTN or the Internet wherein the user may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

Yet again another object of this invention is to provide a satellite constellation system providing multiple beams to a plurality of users employing at least one gateway connected to either a PSTN or the Internet wherein the users within a given frequency band are distinguished one from another employing orthogonal codes and have the capability of either initiating or receiving packet data messages.

V. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the instant invention are accomplished, generally speaking, by providing at least one satellite employing multiple beams to a plurality of user terminals wherein a gateway is employed to connect to either a PSTN or the Internet, communicating with a user terminal over the constellation so that the users within a given frequency range are distinguished one from the other employing orthogonal codes and have the capability of either initiating or receiving packet data messages.

Thus, for example, in a preferred embodiment a LEO satellite constellation comprising approximately 48 satellites as presently employed in the Globalstar® system is provided, employing multiple beams which may reach a plurality of user terminals. This is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,325 which is incorporated herein. A gateway is employed connected to either a PSTN or the Internet and communicating with a user terminal over the constellation so that users within a given frequency range are distinguished one from the other employing orthogonal codes substantially on the forward link. The user terminals thus employed may either initiate or receive packet data messages.

Any suitable protocol may be employed to discriminate a UT within a given frequency band from another UT. Typical protocols include CDMA, TDM and TDMA, among others. CDMA technology is presently preferred as provided by, for example, the Qualcomm Corporation, which is found to provide excellent data and voice capacity through the Globalstar® satellite phone network. CDMA is employed to convert speech signals into digital format and then retransmitting the signals from the Globalstar® satellite phone up to the satellite system and down to the ground station. Every call placed over the satellite network has its own unique code which distinguishes it from the other calls sharing the airwaves at the same time, thus the CDMA signal is found to provide a signal without interference, crosstalk or static. In addition, it is found that the Globalstar® satellite phone system employing CDMA also provides other key features including unique forward and reverse links, direct sequence spread spectrum, seamless soft handoff, universal frequency reuse, multipath propagation for diversity and variable rate transmission.

Although any suitable code may be employed in the CDMA format, it is found that Walsh codes are preferable to provide a system which uniquely identifies each user on the forward link employing the unique mathematical orthogonality of the Walsh codes. It is found that Walsh codes are uniquely distinct so that voice data can only be recovered by a receiver applying the same Walsh code since the system discards all other signals as background noise.

Any suitable satellite may be employed in the system of the instant invention. Typical satellites include bent pipe repeaters, satellites equipped with low end processing power to those that include high processing systems.

Any suitable gateway may be employed in the system of the instant invention. Typical gateways include the Globalstar® gateway which is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,514, FIG. 2B.

The gateway consists of the following major subsystems:

-   -   a) Transceivers and associated RF antennas, which transmit RF         signals to the satellite constellation and receive RF signals         from the satellite constellation. A typical gateway for a         satellite system has two or more antennas each of which is able         to track one of the two or more satellites visible to the         gateway.     -   b) A CDMA subsystem that modulates/demodulates and         spreads/despreads the CDMA signals that are being         transmitted/received by the transceivers.     -   c) A Gateway Controller (GC) that is used to control the         operation of all the gateway subsystems.     -   d) A Baseband Processing Subsystem (BPS) that processes and         transmits the baseband signals between the CDMA subsystem and an         IS-41 switch or a GSM switch, both of which connect to the PSTN         and enable the mobile satellite users' calls to be routed to and         from terrestrial callers on the PSTN.     -   e) A Call Control Processor (CCP) that generally handles radio         setup and channel assignments, along with other call related         functions. The CCP may include the gateway Visitor Location         Register (VLR) that enables roaming between gateways.     -   f) Current gateways comprise a Global Mobile System Interface         (GSMI) or to a router which connects to the Internet. The router         routes data packets to/from the Internet or other packet data         network. The GSMI detects the presence of a GSM call and routes         it to the GSM switch and enables GSM roaming. Optimal systems         would not have a GSMI.

The signal is received at the MSS Gateway and, after downconverting, demodulating in transceivers and CDMA system, and otherwise being processed, is delivered to a BPS. The signal after processing by the BPS is provided as an output. This output signal may be sent to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), such as an IS-41 switch or a GSM switch (that contains the GSM VLR), or to a Router, or it may be provided directly to the HS/LS Interface in the High Speed System. Depending on the means chosen, the signal is either routed via an internal or external network to the Operations Center (also referred to herein as the User Control Center). The signal is then processed by the Operations Center and, depending on the nature of the call setup desired, is routed to the external network for interaction with the Media provider, or is used otherwise in the Operations Center. The Operations Center may be collocated with the Gateway, or it may be at a remote location and connected though the external network.

Further components of the MSS Gateway include a Call Control Processor (CCP) that generally handles radio setup and channel assignments, among other call-related functions. The CCP can include the Gateway VLR. A GSMI detects the presence of a GSM call and routes the call to the GSM switch, enabling the possibility of GSM roaming. These various components can be included with or within a signaling system seven (SS-7) server unit. If present, the HLR could be part of the SS-7 server.

The Gateway Controller (GC) provides overall control of the Gateway, and that provides an interface to and controls the operation of the set of High Speed Equipment.

It should be noted that if the media or data flowing towards the user is low speed data, the signal after processing by the Operations Center is sent to the MSS system for delivery via the satellites to the UT in the normal manner of the MSS system. The decision logic or point of which path (LS or HS) to use may be located in the Operations Center, or may be located in the HS/LS Interface.

The UT can be used for the delivery of tracking and terminal control signals, as well as for low speed (MSS) data delivery and transmission. The MSS system receives supervision and control signals from the Operations Control Center or from any external facility. Alternatively, the UT and the Dual Terminal can be controlled from the HS Data System collocated with the MSS Gateway. Commands and other signals are sent via the MSS low speed data system over Control and Supervision Links. In an alternative embodiment the commands and other signals may be sent over the High Speed system. As was mentioned above, a packet data modem could also be used, as could more than one UT.

Tracking signals are important when the Dual Terminal is fitted with tracking antennas. A MSS Ground Operations Control Center (GOCC) provides information over a Ground Data Network (GDN) as to which satellite(s) of the constellation to use and for other transmission parameters, such as power at which to transmit, frequencies to use, which RF antenna(s) are to be used, etc. Antenna pointing information is sent to the Operations Center, which is preferably also connected to the GDN. The tracking and other information is sent over the Control and Supervision links to the UT and, after processing, to the baseband unit of the Dual Terminal. The baseband unit converts the information to control signals used by a Track Information unit to point and track the antenna or antennas of the Dual Terminal.

Also located in the High Speed Equipment System of the Dual Gateway is a Control and Billing Management system. The Billing and Management system is preferably connected to the GOCC via the GDN, but may instead be connected to the Gateway Management System (GMS) of the MSS Gateway. The Billing and Management system accounts for system usage and provides Call Detail Records and other information such that the user can be charged appropriately, and so that the air time used can be correctly charged to the system provider.

System control is exercised so that priorities of transmission are accounted for. For example, High Speed Data may be restricted during certain periods of time in order to allow maximum MSS voice circuit usage during high voice traffic periods. Conversely, more of the MSS bandwidth can be allocated to the High Speed Data Services during periods of lower MSS voice/data traffic demand. In this case the high speed data can be spread over a wider bandwidth, enabling higher data rates. It should be noted that in some embodiments it may not be necessary to share the in-band spectrum between the LS/HS services, as adjacent spectrum may be employed for providing the HS services (and/or for providing the LS services). Gateway provider control can be used for these purposes, or the control may be dictated by the GOCC under the direction of the system operator.

Any suitable satellite may be employed to practice the system of the instant invention. Typical satellites include LEO satellites, with or without onboard processing, MEO and GEO satellites, with or without onboard processing.

Any suitable satellite constellation may be employed to practice the system of the instant invention. Typical satellite constellations include LEO, MEO and GEO. Preferred of these is the LEO satellite which provides the requisite signal reception, reliability and clarity.

Any suitable user terminal may be employed in the system of the instant invention. Typical user terminals include mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, fixed phones, satellite data modem, car kits, airplane phones, and any devices or sensors that can be interfaced to any of the above. Preferable of these is the Globalstar® satellite phone GSP 1600, Iridium satellite phone, and the like.

Any suitable gateway may be employed in the system of the instant invention. Typical gateways include those described in assignee Globalstar's® U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,775,251, 6,735,440, 6,661,996, 6,253,080, 6,134,423, 6,067,442, 5,918,157, 5,884,142, 5,812,538, 5,758,261, 5,634,190 and 5,592,481. A preferable one of these is the gateway as described in FIG. 2B of U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,514.

VI. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above set forth and other features of the invention are made more apparent in the ensuing Detailed Description of the Invention when read in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a satellite communication system that is constructed and operated in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one of the gateways of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of the communications payload of one of the satellites of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B illustrates a portion of a beam pattern that is associated with one of the satellites of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that depicts the ground equipment support of satellite telemetry and control functions.

VII. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a presently preferred embodiment of a satellite communication system 10 that is suitable for use with the presently preferred embodiment of this invention. Before describing this invention in detail, a description will first be made of the communication system 10 so that a more complete understanding may be had of the present invention.

The communication system 10 may be conceptually sub-divided into a plurality of segments 1, 2, 3 and 4. Segment 1 is referred to herein as a space segment, segment 2 as a user segment, segment 3 as a ground (terrestrial) segment, and segment 4 as a terrestrial system infrastructure segment; e.g., a telephone infrastructure.

In the presently preferred embodiment of this invention there are a total of 48 satellites in, by example, a 1414 km Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The satellites 12 are distributed in eight orbital planes with six equally-spaced satellites per plane (Walker constellation). The orbital planes are inclined at 52 degrees with respect to the equator and each satellite completes an orbit once every 114 minutes. This approach provides approximately full-earth coverage with, preferably, at least two satellites in view at any given time from a particular user location between about 70 degree south latitude and about 70 degree north latitude. As such, a user is enabled to communicate to or from nearly any point on the earth's surface within a gateway (GW) 18 coverage area to or from other points on the earth's surface (by way of the PSTN), via one or more gateways 18 and one or more of the satellites 12, possibly also using a portion of the terrestrial infrastructure segment 4.

It is noted at this point that the foregoing and ensuing description of the system 10 represents but one suitable embodiment of a communication system within which the teaching of this invention may find use. That is, the specific details of the communication system are not to be read or construed in a limiting sense upon the practice of this invention.

Continuing now with a description of the system 10, a soft transfer (handoff) process between satellites 12, and also between individual ones of 16 spot beams transmitted by each satellite (FIG. 3B), provides unbroken communications via a spread spectrum (SS), code division multiple access (CDMA) technique. The presently preferred SS-CDMA technique is similar to the TIA/EIA Interim Standard, “Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System” TIA/EIA/IS-95, July 1993, although other spread spectrum and CDMA techniques and protocols can be employed.

The low earth orbits permit low-powered fixed or mobile user terminals 13 to communicate via the satellites 12, each of which functions, in a presently preferred embodiment of this invention, solely as a “bent pipe” repeater to receive a communications traffic signal (such as speech and/or data) from a user terminal 13 or from a gateway 18, convert the received communications traffic signal to another frequency band, and to then re-transmit the converted signal. That is, no on-board signal processing of a received communications traffic signal occurs, and the satellite 12 does not become aware of any intelligence that a received or transmitted communications traffic signal may be conveying.

Furthermore, there need be no direct communication link or links between the satellites 12. That is, each of the satellites 12 receives a signal only from a transmitter located in the user segment 2 or from a transmitter located in the ground segment 3, and transmits a signal only to a receiver located in the user segment 2 or to a receiver located in the ground segment 3.

The user segment 2 may include a plurality of types of user terminals 13 that are adapted for communication with the satellites 12. The user terminals 13 include, by example, a plurality of different types of fixed and mobile user terminals including, but not limited to, handheld mobile radio-telephones 14, vehicle mounted mobile radio-telephones 15, paging/messaging-type devices 16, and fixed radio-telephones 14 a. The user terminals 13 are preferably provided with omnidirectional antennas 13 a for bidirectional communication via one or more of the satellites 12.

It is noted that the fixed radio-telephones 14 a may employ a directional antenna. This is advantageous in that it enables a reduction in interference with a consequent increase in the number of users that can be simultaneously serviced with one or more of the satellites 12.

It is further noted that the user terminals 13 may be dual use devices that include circuitry for also communicating in a conventional manner with a terrestrial cellular system.

Referring also to FIG. 3A, the user terminals 13 may be capable of operating in a full duplex mode and communicate via, by example, L-band RF links (uplink or return link 17 b) and S-band RF links (downlink or forward link 17 a) through return and forward satellite transponders 12 a and 12 b, respectively. The return L-band RF links 17 b may operate within a frequency range of 1.61 GHz to 1.625 GHz, a bandwidth of 16.5 MHz, and are modulated with packetized digital voice signals and/or data signals in accordance with the preferred spread spectrum technique. The forward S-band RF links 17 a may operate within a frequency range of 2.485 GHz to 2.5 GHz, a bandwidth of 16.5 MHz. The forward RF links 17 a are also modulated at a gateway 18 with packetized digital voice signals and/or data signals in accordance with the spread spectrum technique.

The 16.5 MHz bandwidth of the forward link is partitioned into 13 channels with up to, by example, 128 users being assigned per channel. The return link may have various bandwidths, and a given user terminal 13 may or may not be assigned a different channel than the channel assigned on the forward link. However, when operating in the diversity reception mode on the return link (receiving from two or more satellites 12), the user is assigned the same forward and return link RF channel for each of the satellites.

The ground segment 3 includes at least one but generally a plurality of the gateways 18 that communicate with the satellites 12 via, by example, a full duplex C-band RF link 19 (forward link 19 a to the satellite), (return link 19 b from the satellite) that operates within a range of frequencies generally above 3 GHz and preferably in the C-band. The C-band RF links bidirectionally convey the communication feeder links, and also convey satellite commands to the satellites and telemetry information from the satellites. The forward feeder link 19 a may operate in the band of 5 GHz to 5.25 GHz, while the return feeder link 19 b may operate in the band of 6.875 GHz to 7.075 GHz.

The satellite feeder link antennas 12 g and 12 h are preferably wide coverage antennas that subtend a maximum earth coverage area as seen from the LEO satellite 12. In the presently preferred embodiment of the communication system 10 the angle subtended from a given LEO satellite 12 (assuming 10° elevation angles from the earth's surface) is approximately 110°. This yields a coverage zone that is approximately 3600 miles in diameter.

The L-band and the S-band antennas are multiple beam antennas that provide coverage within an associated terrestrial service region. The L-band and S-band antennas 12 c and 12 d, respectively, are preferably congruent with one another, as depicted in FIG. 3B. That is, the transmit and receive beams from the spacecraft cover the same are on the earth's surface, although this feature is not critical to the operation of the system 10.

As an example, several thousand full duplex communications may occur through a given one of the satellites 12. In accordance with a feature of the system 10, two or more satellites 12 may each convey the same communication between a given user terminal 13 and one of the gateways 18. This mode of operation, as described in detail below, thus provides for diversity combining at the respective receivers, leading to an increased resistance to fading and facilitating the implementation of a soft handoff procedure.

It is pointed out that all of the frequencies, bandwidths and the like that are described herein are representative of but one particular system. Other frequencies and bands of frequencies may be used with no change in the principles being discussed. As but one example, the feeder links between the gateways and the satellites may use frequencies in a band other than the C-band (approximately 3 GHz to approximately 7 GHz), for example the Ku band (approximately 10 GHz to approximately 15 GHz) or the Ka band (above approximately 15 GHz).

The gateways 18 function to couple the communications payload or transponders 12 a and 12 b (FIG. 3A) of the satellites 12 to the terrestrial infrastructure segment 4. The transponders 12 a and 12 b include an L-band receive antenna 12 c, S-band transmit antenna 12 d, C-band power amplifier 12 e, C-band low noise amplifier 12 f, C-band antennas 12 g and 12 h, L-band to C-band frequency conversion section 12 i, and C-band to S-band frequency conversion section 12 j. The satellite 12 also includes a master frequency generator 12 k and command and telemetry equipment 121.

Reference in this regard may also be had to U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,647, by E. Hirshfield and C. A. Tsao, entitled “Mobile Communications Satellite “Payload”, which discloses one type of communications satellite payload that is suitable for use with the teaching of this invention.

The terrestrial infrastructure segment 4 is comprised of existing communications systems and includes Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) gateways 20, local telephone exchanges such as regional public telephone networks (RPTN) 22 or other local telephone service providers, domestic long distance networks 24, international networks 26, Internet 28 and other RPTNs 30. The communication system 10 operates to provide bidirectional voice and/or data communication between the user segment 2 and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephones 32 and non-PSTN telephones 32 of the terrestrial infrastructure segment 4, or other user terminals of various types, which may be private networks.

Also shown in FIG. 1 (and also in FIG. 4), as a portion of the ground segment 3, is a Satellite Operations Control Center (SOCC) 36, and a Ground Operations Control Center (GOCC) 38. A communication path, which includes a Ground Data Network (GDN) 39 (see FIG. 2), is provided for interconnecting the gateways 18 and TCUs 18 a, SOCC 36 and GOCC 38 of the ground segment 3. This portion of the communication system 10 provides overall system control functions.

FIG. 2 shows one of the gateways 18 in greater detail. Each gateway 18 includes up to four dual polarization RF C-band subsystems each comprising a dish antenna 40, antenna drive 42 and pedestal 42 a, low noise receivers 44, and high power amplifiers 46. All of these components may be located within a radome structure to provide environmental protection.

The gateway 18 further includes down converters 48 and up converters 50 for processing the received and transmitted RF carrier signals, respectively. The down converters 48 and the up converters 50 are connected to a CDMA subsystem 52 which, in turn, is coupled to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) through a PSTN interface 54. As an option, the PSTN could be bypassed by using satellite-to-satellite links.

The CDMA subsystem 52 includes a signal summer/switch unit 52 a, a Gateway Transceiver Subsystem (GTS) 52 b, a GTS Controller 52 c, a CDMA Interconnect Subsystem (CIS) 52 d, and a Selector Bank Subsystem (SBS) 52 e. The CDMA subsystem 52 is controlled by a Base Station Manager (BSM) 52 f and functions in a manner similar to a CDMA-compatible (for example, an IS-95 compatible) base station. The CDMA subsystem 52 also includes the required frequency synthesizer 52 g and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver 52 h.

The PSTN interface 54 includes a PSTN Service Switch Point (SSP) 54 a, a Call Control Processor (CCP) 54 b, a Visitor Location Register (VLR) 54 c, and a protocol interface 54 d to a Home Location Register (HLR). The HLR may be located in the cellular gateway 20 (FIG. 1) or, optionally, in the PSTN interface 54.

The gateway 18 is connected to telecommunication networks through a standard interface made through the SSP 54 a. The gateway 18 provides an interface, and connects to the PSTN via Primary Rate Interface (PRI), or other suitable means. The gateway 18 is further capable of providing a direct connection to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC).

The gateway 18 provides SS-7 ISDN fixed signaling to the CCP 54 b. On the gateway side of this interface, the CCP 54 b interfaces with the CDMA Interconnect Subsystem 52 d and hence to the CDMA subsystem 52. The CCP 54 b provides protocol translation functions for the system Air Interface (Al), which may be similar to the IS-95 Interim Standard for CDMA communications.

Blocks 54 c and 54 d generally provide an interface between the gateway 18 and an external cellular telephone network that is compatible, for example, with the IS-41 (North American Standard, AMPS) or the GSM (European Standard, MAP) cellular systems and, in particular, to the specified methods for handling roamers, that is, users who place calls outside of their home system. The gateway 18 supports user terminal authentication for system 10/AMPS phones and for system 10/GSM phones. In service areas where there is no existing telecommunications infrastructure, an HLR can be added to the gateway 18 and interfaced with the SS-7 signaling interface.

A user making a call out of the user's normal service area (a roamer) is accommodated by the system 10 if authorized. In that a roamer may be found in any environment, a user may employ the same terminal equipment to make a call from anywhere in the world, and the necessary protocol conversions are made transparently by the gateway 18. The protocol interface 54 d is bypassed when not required to convert, by example, GSM to AMPS.

It is within the scope of the teaching of this invention to provide a dedicated universal interface to the cellular gateways 20, in addition to or in place of the conventional “A” interface specified for GSM mobile switching centers and vendor-proprietary interfaces to IS-41 mobile switching centers. It is further within the scope of this invention to provide an interface directly to the PSTN, as indicated in FIG. 1 as the signal path designated PSTN-INT.

Overall gateway control is provided by the gateway controller 56 which includes an interface 56 a to the above-mentioned Ground Data Network (GDN) 39 and an interface 56 b to a Service Provider Control Center (SPCC) 60. The gateway controller 56 is generally interconnected to the gateway 18 through the BSM 52 f and through RF controllers 43 associated with each of the antennas 40. The gateway controller 56 is further coupled to a database 62, such as a database of users, satellite ephemeris data, etc., and to an I/O unit 64 that enables service personnel to gain access to the gateway controller 56. The GDN 39 is also bidirectionally interfaced to a Telemetry and Command Unit (TCU) 18A (FIGS. 1 and 4).

Referring to FIG. 4, the function of the GOCC 38 is to plan and control satellite utilization by the gateways 18, and to coordinate this utilization with the SOCC 36. In general, the GOCC 38 analyses trends, generates traffic plans, allocates satellite 12 and system resources (such as, but not limited to, power and channel allocations), monitors the performance of the overall system 10, and issues utilization instructions, via the GDN 39, to the gateways 18 in real time or in advance.

The SOCC 36 operates to maintain and monitor orbits, to relay satellite usage information to the gateway for input to the GOCC 38 via the GDN 39, to monitor the overall functioning of each satellite 12, including the state of the satellite batteries, to set the gain for the RF signal paths within the satellite 12, to ensure optimum satellite orientation with respect to the surface of the earth, in addition to other functions.

As described above, each gateway 18 functions to connect a given user to the PSTN for both signaling, voice and/or data communications and also to generate date, via database 62 (FIG. 2), for billing purposes. Selected gateways 18 include a Telemetry and Command Unit (TCU) 18 a for receiving telemetry data that is transmitted by the satellites 12 over the return link 19 b and for transmitting commands up to the satellites 12 via the forward link 19 a. The GDN 39 operates to interconnect the gateways 18, GOCC 38 and the SOCC 36.

In general, each satellite 12 of the LEO constellation operates to relay information from the gateways 18 to the users (C band forward link 19 a to S band forward link 17 a), and to relay information from the users to the gateways 18 (L band return link 17 b to C band return link 19 b). This information includes SS-CDMA synchronization and paging channels, in addition to power control signals. Various CDMA pilot channels may also be used to monitor interference on the forward link. Satellite ephemeris update data is also communicated to each of the user terminals 13, from the gateway 18, via the satellites 12. The satellites 12 also function to relay signaling information from the user terminals 13 to the gateway 18, including access requests, power change requests, and registration requests. The satellites 12 also relay communication signals between the users and the gateways 18, and may apply security to mitigate unauthorized use.

In operation, the satellites 12 transmit spacecraft telemetry data that includes measurements of satellite operational status. The telemetry stream from the satellites, the commands from the SOCC 36, and the communications feeder links 19 all share the C band antennas 12 g and 12 h. For those gateways 18 that include a TCU 18 a, the received satellite telemetry data may be forwarded immediately to the SOCC 36, or the telemetry data may be stored and subsequently forwarded to the SOCC 36 at a later time, typically upon SOCC request. The telemetry data, whether transmitted immediately or stored and subsequently forwarded, is sent over the GDN 39 as packet messages, each packet message containing a single minor telemetry frame. Should more than one SOCC 36 be providing satellite support, the telemetry data is routed to all of the SOCCs.

The SOCC 36 has several interface functions with the GOCC 38. One interface function is orbit position information, wherein the SOCC 36 provides orbital information to the GOCC 38 such that each gateway 18 can accurately track up to four satellites that may be in view of the gateway. This data includes data tables that are sufficient to allow the gateways 18 to develop their own satellite contact lists, using known algorithms. The SOCC 36 is not required to know the gateway tracking schedules. The TCU 18 a searches the downlink telemetry band and uniquely identifies the satellite being tracked by each antenna prior to the propagation of commands.

Another interface function is satellite status information that is reported from the SOCC 36 to the GOCC 38. The satellite status information includes both satellite/transponder availability, battery status and orbital information and incorporates, in general, any satellite-related limitations that would preclude the use of all or a portion of a satellite 12 for communications purposes.

An important aspect of the system 10 is the use of SS-CDMA in conjunction with diversity combining at the gateway receivers and at the user terminal receivers. Diversity combining is employed to mitigate the effects of fading as signals arrive at the user terminals 13 or the gateway 18 from multiple satellites over multiple and different path lengths. Rake receivers in the user terminals 13 and the gateways 18 are employed to receive and combine the signals from multiple sources. As an example, a user terminal 13 or the gateway 18 provides diversity combining for the forward link signals or the return link signals that are simultaneously received from and transmitted through the multiple beams of the satellites 12.

In this regard, the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,626, issued Aug. 3, 1993 to Stephen A. Ames and entitled “Repeater Diversity Spread Spectrum Communication System” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The performance in the continuous diversity reception mode is superior to that of receiving one signal through one satellite repeater, and furthermore there is no break in communications should one link be lost due to shadowing or blockage from trees or other obstructions that have an adverse impact on the received signal.

The multiple, directional, antennas 40 of a given one of the gateways 18 are capable of transmitting the forward link signal (gateway to user terminal) through different beams of one or more satellites 12 to support diversity combining in the user terminals 13. The omnidirectional antennas 13 a of the user terminals 13 transmit through all satellite beams that can be “seen” from the user terminal 13.

Each gateway 18 supports a transmitter power control function to address slow fades, and also supports block interleaving to address medium to fast fades. Power control is implemented on both the forward and reverse links. The response time of the power control function is adjusted to accommodate for a worst cast 30 msec satellite round trip delay.

While the present invention has been particularly described with respect to certain components in its preferred embodiment, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these particular components described in the preferred embodiments, or the sequence in employing or methods of processing the components. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

In addition, other components may be employed in the system of the instant invention as claimed as well as variations and alternatives to the components disclosed and claimed with similar results with regard to the operation and function of the system of the instant invention. In particular, the scope of the invention is intended to include, for example, GEO satellites equipped with dynamic beam forming or reconfigurable beam forming which further enhances the performance of the system, or equipped with a Digital Channelizer Router (DCR) or employing virtual gateway techniques as set out in U.S. Pat. No. 6,735,440, especially in FIGS. 15B-C. 

1. A satellite communication system for communicating between a plurality of user terminals comprising: at least one satellite which provides multiple beams; a plurality of user terminals that communicate with each other, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a data network, via the at least one satellite; at least one gateway communicating with at least one user terminal over the at least one satellite wherein each of said user terminals within a given frequency band is distinguished from another of said user terminals employing orthogonal codes employed on forward channel transmissions; and wherein said user terminals are equipped to initiate or receive or terminate packet data messages; wherein each of said plurality of user terminals is handed off from one beam of said at least one satellite to another beam of said at least one satellite; and wherein said hand off is predicated on signal strength determined at said plurality of user terminals.
 2. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein said satellite is in a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.
 3. The satellite system as defined in claim 2 wherein said hand off is predicated on signal strength determined at the user terminal.
 4. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein said satellite is in a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite constellation.
 5. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of user terminals are equipped to receive global positioning system (GPS) signals.
 6. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein said gateway is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or an Internet.
 7. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein one of said plurality of user terminals is handed off from one beam of said satellite to another beam of said satellite.
 8. The satellite system of claim 1 wherein said user terminal is handed off from one satellite to another satellite.
 9. A satellite communication system for communicating between a plurality of user terminals comprising: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation wherein each satellite of said constellation provides multiple beams; a plurality of user terminals that communicate with each other, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a data network, via satellites of the constellation; at least one gateway connected to an Internet and communicating with at least one user terminal over the constellation wherein each of said user terminals within a given frequency band is distinguished from another of said user terminals employing orthogonal codes employed on forward channel transmissions; wherein said user terminal can either initiate or receive packet data messages; wherein each of said plurality of user terminals is handed off from one beam of a satellite to another beam of said satellite; and wherein said hand off is predicated on signal strength determined at said plurality of user terminals.
 10. The satellite communication system as defined in claim 9 wherein said satellite constellation comprises a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite constellation.
 11. A satellite communication system for communicating between a plurality of user terminals comprising: a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation wherein each satellite of said constellation provides multiple beams; a plurality of user terminals that communicate with each other, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a data network, via satellites of the constellation; at least one gateway connected to a PSTN and an Internet communicating with said at least one user terminal over the constellation wherein each of said user terminals within a given frequency band is distinguished from another of said user terminals employing orthogonal codes employed on forward channel transmissions; wherein said user terminal is equipped to initiate or receive packet data messages; wherein each of said plurality of user terminals is handed off from one beam of a satellite to another beam of said satellite; and wherein said hand off is predicated on signal strength determined at said plurality of user terminals.
 12. The satellite communication system as defined in claim 11 wherein said satellite constellation comprises a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite constellation.
 13. A satellite communication system for communicating between a plurality of user terminals comprising: a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation wherein each satellite of said constellation provides multiple beams; a plurality of user terminals that communicate with each other, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), or a data network, via satellites of the constellation; at least one gateway connected to an Internet and communicating with said at least one user terminal over the constellation wherein each of said user terminals within a given frequency band is distinguished from another of said user terminals employing orthogonal codes employed on forward channel transmissions; wherein said user terminal can either initiate or receive packet data messages; wherein each of said plurality of user terminals is handed off from one beam of a satellite to another beam of said satellite; and wherein said hand off is predicated on signal strength determined at said plurality of user terminals.
 14. The satellite communication system as defined in claim 13 wherein said gateway is connected to a PSTN and an Internet. 